Having just been released from the hospital after a rough bout of pneumonia, comedian John Roy had plenty of time to reflect on the heart surgery he had as an infant and how every decision you make and every experience you have can change the course of your future.

“I think about what I’ve done in my life, if it weren’t for one year, here or there, where I could have gone,” Roy said during a recent phone interview. “You’re definitely conscious of it, and it definitely sticks with you your whole life.”

A Chicago native and the son of an ex-Jesuit and a psychotherapist, Roy found his calling in comedy after a failed attempt at becoming a rock star.

John Roy

“I played guitar and bass in bands that were going absolutely nowhere, and I had just gotten out of college and had no idea what I was going to do,” he said. “I had a friend who had started to do stand-up in and around Chicago and he said, ‘Hey, I saw your band play, and you’re definitely funnier than you are good at music.’ So he invited me to come and give it a shot.”

Luckily for Roy, making people laugh had always been a hobby, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to make a little money in the process.

“I’d always been funny in high school and grade school and I always went out on stage when they let me, but I never had imagined that this is what I wanted to do for a living,” Roy said. “But as I kept doing it, I thought if I kept getting better at the same rate, then maybe I could do this. Somehow I ended up pulling it off.”

Since taking the chance a decade ago, Roy became a grand champion on the televised talent competition “Star Search,” and he has appeared at numerous comedy festivals, on television and on the radio. Roy’s most recent accomplishment was appearing on the late-night talk show of one of his comedy idols.

“Last year I did Conan, and that’s a show that I’d watch myself, even if I wasn’t on it,” he said. “So that felt good to do my act in front of somebody who I really respect and admire in comedy and to do a show that I like anyway, not just because they chose to put me on the show in the first place.”

Roy, who’s coming to Aces Comedy Club in Murrieta this weekend, relies on inspiration from everyday life to find jokes that will make him relatable to a live audience.

“I have all my opinions about various things, and nobody tells me what to say up there,” Roy said. “Everything you talk about, you chose completely on your own, so every comedian’s act is kind of special. I think every comedian is unique because you’ve lived a life that nobody else has. You try to be funny, but the only way to do that is by processing the things that you’ve been through in a humorous way.”

With an extensive touring schedule and regular television appearances, Roy has no aspirations to move into acting like some of his peers and is grateful for being one of the lucky ones who can call stand-up comedy his career.

“I think the one thing I’m most proud of is that I don’t have to have another job,” he said. “Most comedians can’t say that they make a full-time living with it. I’m happy to say I’ve been doing this exclusively for 10 years now, and I don’t need to do anything else.”

Although he is thankful for what he has been able to accomplish professionally, Roy does acknowledge that his time on the road can have its drawbacks.

“I travel for probably 70 percent of year so, regardless of what I’d like to do with the rest of my life, comedy crowds it out,” he said. “When other people get vacation time, they like to travel and I like to just stay home and relax for a change.”

For his first appearance in the Inland Empire, Roy looks forward to seeing those who came to see him share a little bit of insight into his life. Although he knows that the entire audience may not be familiar with him personally, he does hope they are there specifically to see some good comedy.

“I’ve never been to Murrieta before, and I would love to meet the people who live there and give them a great show,” Roy said. “If you want to hear some intelligent and fun comedy, you should come on down to the club, but don’t come if you just want to get drunk. There’s a lot of bars out there to do that.”